Mental
by Tabby Steen
Summary: Jemma Newman accepted the position as Psychological Analyst at the Detroit Police Department to research the homeless population. After the revolution, she gets reassigned to the Android population. How can she research mental illness in Androids when she isn't even sure they are alive? Could Connor change her mind? Pacifist Markus, Deviant ConnorxOC


A/N: Hi there! This is an idea that I decided to throw together and see if it could go somewhere. If I don't get a comment or any interest, I'll leave it at this. IF anyone's interested in the story, I'll keep it going. My original idea is for it to be a ConnorXOC. I'm hoping to take a different angle than most fanfictions. As for readers who have come here based on my other work, note that this is VERY different than what I've written prior (and, sorry, there has to be cussing because.. well.. Hank). Enjoy!

"Come in!" Jemma Newman stopped whirling around in her office chair. God forbid her unforgiving coworkers see her as childish. Sometimes it seemed so surreal, finally getting a _real_ job with the Detroit Police Department. Right out of college too. It was dumb luck. The entire department reminded her of that every so often.

"Oh thank God you're here. I need someone to talk to." Officer Harvey Sanders helped himself to the chair opposite of her.

Going to school for Psychology, she thought she would get a job at a private practice maybe, perhaps substance abuse counseling. Nope. DPD reeled her in with a job offer she couldn't refuse. Twice the pay as she would've gotten anywhere else, and all she had to do was study and analyze the homeless population. At least, that's all they told her she would have to do. They never mentioned that she would be the police force's personal counselor for all their internal issues, which, mind you, there are _a lot _of them.

"Officer Reed has gotten on my last nerves. This is my last straw-"

Officer Gavin Reed. Sexist. Arrogant. Discriminatory. She just about had him banned from her office for sexual harassment the first week she got to DPD. She heard his name in her office at least once a day. That's when it was the hardest to give unbiased counseling. Most of the time she just sat back to listen, holding her tongue.

"—and I told him, you can't say those kinds of things to androids anymore. They have rights now, and I don't want to have to report you, but I will if I have to."

"What did he say to that?" Jemma leaned back in her chair.

Intermittent with various curse words, the main gist of Gavin's response was that he could have Officer Sanders fired before he even got to file a report against him. How has this guy not gotten fired?

"I'm really sorry this is happening to you, Harvey." As much as she wished he would stand up for himself, she feared how Gavin would reciprocate. He never followed through with his threats, but she feared it was a ticking time bomb. "I would keep your distance as much as you can, especially if it's not essential to your assignment. And I don't mind you coming in here whenever you want. I'm here to listen." And silently judge. Though not very ethical. But hey, ethics didn't come into play until graduate school, right?

"Thanks, Jemma. I just needed to vent."

She reassured him with a smile as he reluctantly made his way back to his terminal, where he probably left his overabundant workload scattered across his desk and computer. That's what life was like here at the department now. Officers were overworked, though it slowed down since the Android laws were becoming more comprehensive. Thankfully, she hadn't felt the brunt of it yet. Her job didn't work with Androids too much. It barely worked with the homeless, even though that's what they made it out to be.

Taking a few deep breaths, Jemma sipped her coffee. It was way too early in the morning for drama. How did the officers do it? She would need at least three more cups before being able to write an intelligible warrant or report or whatever they did this early in the morning. She didn't have a clue. She didn't go to Police Academy.

She sat in her office too long. She should at least _look_ like she was doing work. Meandering her why through the department, she grunted a few hello's to officers in passing. At least she meant them to be grunts, they came out too bright. She cringed at her own cheerfulness. Eventually, she found exactly the officer she was looking for. Someone she didn't have to fake herself to.

"Hank, tell me something I don't know." She stole the chair next to him, placing her coffee in between papers strewn everywhere.

"Caffeine increases the levels of cortisol and adrenaline in human bodies. Two primary hormones that are present during acute stress. Which may explain why your stress level reading is at 70%." Hank's android Connor set a cup of coffee down in front of Hank. She shouldn't think of him like that anymore, as a possession. It had been hard to shift that way of thinking. For so long, androids were property. Now they've ignited the largest revolution of the century. Plus, Connor proved himself enough to be treated as a human. It helped that his nose and cheeks were scattered with freckles, his eyes having a depth to them that some human's didn't contain. The mole on his cheek, a birthmark, added to the illusion.

Hank cursed at his partner. "Spare her the facts. I'm sure that's not what she wanted to hear."

She sipped her coffee, obviously not caring about the facts. "Trust me, if I had the choice, this would be spiked."

"That is not any better.." Connor muttered as quietly as he could while still being heard.

"That kinda morning, huh?"

She always appreciated her friendship, if she dare call it that, with Hank. He always shared in her misery, and it always managed to make her feel better. At least someone understood her. "You have no idea. But what about all this," she motioned to Hank's mess, "it doesn't exactly seem like the best of mornings for the two of you either."

"Fowler put us head of all Android cases."

"That's pretty broad."

"No shit. You're lucky you're not an officer, or I'd be yelling at ya to get your ass to work."

"I'd help if I could." She reassured Hank, catching a small smile in return, a rarity to see. And as quick as the moment came, it went.

"What about you, Connor?"

He raised his eyebrows in shock, not expecting to be questioned. Or not knowing how to respond. She wasn't sure.

"With all this, are you overwhelmed?" She hadn't known Connor that long. They met briefly when she first got hired, right before the Android's revolution. Now, he had twice the personality he did back then. She wasn't sure how she felt about him. She never gave the whole Android thing too much thought, never had to. On one hand, she was learning how to interact with an Android. So far, it wasn't different at all from a human. On the other hand, if she accepted the fact that Connor was completely human, or as human as androids could be (equal rights and all), then how could she rationalize how nervous she felt around him? Would she feel the same way if he were human? It didn't take much to notice how attractive he was. No, that couldn't be why she was nervous. It had to be because he was Android.

"It does look like a lot of work, but there's a 89% chance that we will have all the reports cleared by the end of the day."

She smirked. "Unfortunately, I can't read your stress levels the way you can mine, so entertain me. If I _could_ read your stress levels, what do you think they would say?"

He glanced off in the distance, as if he had to really give the question some thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she even saw Hank cross his arms, intrigued by where the conversation was going.

"Thirty percent." Connor sounded sure of himself, as if he were able to calculate his own stress.

Hank cursed. "I must be picking up the other 70%. Get to work." He took a stack of papers and stood to drop them onto Connor's desk.

_Sorry_, Jemma mouthed to Connor.

He shook his head, a very human response, dismissing any responsibility she thought she had in his punishment.

"Jemma Newman. My office." Captain Fowler's voice boomed across the office, enough to shake Jemma in her seat. _Guess looking like I__'m working didn't go so well._

Timidly and with coffee in hand, she stepped into the Head Chief's office, carefully closing the door behind her. The tone of voice implied that this should probably be a private conversation, if his voice didn't resound beyond the glass walls.

"I am modifying your job assignment."

"Good. Straight to the point. What is it?" She took a seat, leaning in to hang on every detail.

"I want you to study the correlation between Android Deviance and Mental Health."

She tried not to choke on her coffee. Since when could Androids have mental health issues? I guess there was always a possibility.. She never considered it.

"Like with the homeless, does mental health affect violence? Especially in Android Deviancy. Some seem to take a violent, aggressive path. Others, such as Markus, the leader of this revolution— I'm sure you've heard— he seems rather.."

"Pacifist." She contemplated the thought. There was truth in Captain Folwer's statement. "I mean, it's going to be a little difficult since there is no research done on the topic of Androids and mental health. Humans have minds that can be analyzed. We were born with a brain that allows us to choose how we make life decisions. Androids, it seems, have to grow into that decision making. Way different than human development."

"Perfect. Now take those thoughts into your office and do what you do."

"Captain Fowler, Psychology has just recently been able to explain theories of human violence and aggression. I can't promise a breakthrough on such a fresh subject, especially with the pressure Androids and humans are under. There's still a lot of discrimination that's taking place."

"Good. Analyze that too, then. You are dismissed, Miss Newman."

Jemma stood up with a huff. That wasn't much to work with. Barely an outline. Thankfully, she spent most undergrad school bullcrapping papers. This couldn't be much different. Once she reached her office, she quickly grabbed a scrap piece of paper and pen.

_Hypothesis: Androids have mental health disorders, much like humans, that can influence violence and crime._

Now, how to research it.


End file.
